Semi-Retirement Made Earlier and Easier

Portfolio Update: November 2016

A small pat on the back to myself for “not doing anything” last week. I did not try to predict the outcome of the US election having been “burnt” by Brexit and at the same time, I did not react to the outcome of Trump becoming POTUS.

Basically, just sitting still and observing what’s happening.

Surprises are everywhere and it’s also interesting to note that I fell sick for the first time this year earlier in the week. When I actually had no work for the previous week.

But well, when there is no work, I drink less water and take lesser care of my body.

Moral of the story: everything can be explained well on hindsight.

1. Core Portfolio

The US market is surging yet again and Berk B is probably responsible for the bulk of this month’s portfolio increase. In a short span of a month, including currency appreciation, Berkshire probably increased by >10%.

My target is to have approximately $30,000 worth of Berk B by the end of this year and if the momentum continues, there is a chance I might not even need to add a tranche to hit that sum.

But honestly, I hope it comes down to a much healthier level for me to add a bit more.

Asset

Avg Bought

Amount

Price

Valuation

Allocation

STI ETF

$2.92

12,800

$2.86

$36,608

30.9%

Berkshire B

$134.50*

120

$157.46

$26,831

22.7%

SSBs

$1.00

15,000

$1.00

$15,000

12.7%

Cash (SGD)

$1.00

40,000

$1.00

$40,000

33.8%

Total

$118,439

100.0%

2. Local Stock Portfolio

A couple of weeks ago, I managed to add 600 shares of DBS @$14.86. And yes, on hindsight, with the expectation of a rate increase, it makes for a good hedge for the REITs that I hold. But the reality is that I just got lucky.

In the past week, most REITs are down 10% while the banks are up by the same region of 10%.

There’s also the privatisation of Super Group which is rather welcome as I intend to trim the number of positions I hold. Including CNAV stocks, STI ETF and Berkshire B, the number of holdings probably exceed 20 for a $200K stock portfolio.

If the local market’s sentiment improves and STI breaches 3,000 again, I will be keen to offload at least 2 or 3 peripheral positions.

Stock

Amount

Price

Valuation

Allocation

ST Engg

6,500

$3.200

$20,800

15.51%

Kingsmen

27,700

$0.625

$17,313

12.91%

MCT

10,000

$1.425

$14,250

10.63%

DBS

600

$16.340

$9,804

7.31%

CCT

6,000

$1.485

$8,910

6.65%

HK Land

1,000

$8.847

$8,847

6.60%

UOL

1,500

$5.640

$8,460

6.31%

SingPost

5,500

$1.470

$8,085

6.03%

Semb Corp

3,000

$2.610

$7,830

5.84%

Boustead

9,000

$0.845

$7,605

5.67%

Genting

8,000

$0.875

$7,000

5.22%

Super Grp

4,000

$1.265

$5,060

3.77%

M1

2,000

$2.050

$4,100

3.06%

MTQ

10,000

$0.410

$4,100

3.06%

Bou Proj

2,700

$0.705

$1,904

1.42%

Total

$134,067

100.00%

3. Emergency Funds

I made my first purchase of paper gold through the SPDR Gold Shares. I bought 40 shares at $120 a few days ago. The current price is lower but I am waiting for a better price before loading again.

I have a question for you. As shareholders of Super, which is being privatised, how can we profit from it? I know we can trade it on the market. Is there other way? for example, doing nothing and wait until it’s delisted?